No need for a care inquiry? Just read this

Page Tools

Something is rotten in the state of our juvenile care.
Ask Damien Bird.

Senior County Court judge Peter Gebhardt says there needs to be
a judicial inquiry into Victoria's juvenile justice system. The
Bracks Government disagrees. So let's consider the treatment of
20-year-old autistic man Damien Bird while in the "care" of the
system (and be warned that some of what follows may disturb some
readers).

Bird spent four weeks at Malmsbury Juvenile Justice Centre from
March 19 this year after receiving a 12-month sentence for breaking
into several schools to steal computers. During those four weeks,
he was assaulted four times by other inmates. He detailed the
assaults in a statement at Kyneton police station on April 20, a
statement Judge Gebhardt found was "characterised by frankness and
veracity".

After dinner on about April 6, an inmate, Ivan, asked Bird to
come into his room and "have a chat". "I thought he was trying to
be friends with me and so I followed him into his room and he told
me to shut the door," Bird told the police. Four other inmates were
in the room. Ivan put on a tape and turned the music up loud.

Bird takes up the story: "Ivan then said, 'There are a lot of
dogs who come in and I want to make sure you're not one of them.'
Ivan then punched me in the stomach . . . This blow buckled me over
and then Brad grabbed me from behind by the arms . . . Ivan then
approached me again and punched me again in the stomach . . . Sam
then jumped up and punched me in the ribs . . .

"I couldn't understand why they did this to me. I didn't provoke
them."

A few nights later, on about April 8 or 9, Ivan asked Bird to go
to his room again to "talk about the previous problem".

Again, four other inmates were in the room. Marcus told Bird to
take his pants off. "I asked him why and Ivan said, 'Because I
would be breathing through a hole in my neck,' " Bird told the
police. "Ivan was holding a long skinny piece of metal with a point
on the end . . . I thought he would stab me with this so I took off
my pants . . . Ivan then grabbed my right leg and Marcus grabbed my
left. They pushed my legs up towards my chest and I couldn't move.
Sam then approached me and squirted cream onto the inside of my
thighs, testicles and penis." It was Deep Heat.

Bird had trouble going to the toilet for two days because "it
burned". "Again, I don't know why they did this to me."

On the night of April 17, Bird was approached by Ivan and Sam.
"There were two staff on in the unit but one of them was out and
the other was in the office and wasn't watching," Bird told the
police. "Ivan walked up behind me and put the metal knife, that he
had on the previous occasion, in my back. He held it against my
back and told me that I had to go to his room. Ivan told me he
would stab me with the weapon if I didn't go."

There were six inmates plus Bird in the room when "a big guy
walked in" and handed a necklace to Ivan. "The chain was a thick
chrome-style necklace with a cross on it," Bird said. "Sam then
pulled my pants and my boxer shorts down and told me to sit down
again. Ivan put a techno CD in the tape player and turned it up
loud . . . Ivan told me that there had been stuff leaking and there
was a dog in the unit. He told me I was the dog and that there was
50 lashes on each leg because of this."

First, Ivan lashed the chain across Bird's left leg 25 times. "I
was screaming because it hurt like hell. My leg was bleeding and I
was yelling but the radio was too loud . . . Ivan said to me, 'If
you move I will kill you.' I was scared shitless and so I sat
there."

Next, Sam whipped him 25 times on the inside of his right thigh.
"When Sam used the end of the chain with the cross, my leg began to
bleed. I was still yelling out for staff to come but they couldn't
hear me."

Then, Marcus whipped him on the left leg, about 25 times. "By
this stage I was in extreme pain and my throat was sore from all my
screaming. Both my legs were bleeding."

Finally, Brad whipped him about 25 times on the right thigh. "I
was then told to get up and f--- off. I had trouble getting up and
walking and I was crying."

On the night of April 19, another inmate, Mohammed, approached
Bird in the kitchen and punched him in the face.

"I have not provoked or caused any person to assault me," Bird
told the police. "I have kept to myself whilst in the unit and can
think of no reason why these people have assaulted and injured
me."

Community Services Minister Sherryl Garbutt does not dispute
Bird's account of what happened, but insists it is an isolated
case.

Rubbish, says the judge, who may know more about this area than
the minister. "I could not be satisfied by the proposition that
this may be an isolated instance of this sort of behaviour," he
said. "Where is the supervision? Where is the care? Where is the
justice?"

And then this: "I have spent my adult life working for young
people in one guise or another . . . Where a department seems to be
working against the interests of young people by indifference,
negligence or neglect, I have to wonder about its principles,
practices and concerns . . .

"I believe that a frank judicial inquiry into the juvenile
justice system should direct its attention to policies, practices,
management and recruitment."